Cantilever rolling mill



June 22, 1965 1. WILSON 3,190,098

CANTILEVER ROLLING MILL Filed Aug. 1, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE 0k 1911.50

ATTORNEYj 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 1, 1960 ATTORNEYS June 22, 1965 1.WILSON 3,190,098

I GANTILEVER ROLLING MILL Filed Aug. 1, 1960 V 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORf lv A/usov ATToQggEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lNvENToR 14 MA so/v ATTORNEQ n mW June 22, ,1965 1. WILSON CANTILEVER ROLLING MILL Filed Aug. 1, 1960United States Patent 3,190,098 CANTILEVER ROLLING MILL Ian Wilson, HighGreen, near Sheifield, England, ,assignor to The British Iron and SteelResearch Association Filed Aug. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 46,784

9 Claims. (Cl. 72-223) This invention relates generally to mills for therolling or roll-flattening of elongated material of small width. Itapplies particularly to rolling mills for wire rods, narrow flats, lightsection bars and billets, especially when made of steel and hot-rolledcontinuously in two-high trains, in single or twin-strand fashion.

The prevailing practice is to employ for this purpose mill stands havingtwo rolls supported at both ends in bearing chocks. It is necessary inthis arrangement for the roll barrel diameter to be larger than the rollneck diameten'so that bearings may be accommodated on conjugate rollnecks. Since the roll necks must be of sufficient size to withstand thestresses imposed by the roll effective for the purpose of elongating thematerialthan need be.

Another feature of the aforesaid practice. is that. the

length of the roll barrel is greater than its diameter, so as toaccommodate more than one rolling groove, this being done in theinterests of best utilization of the rolls, which are costly on accountof the presence of precision journals on the roll necks. However, as aconsequence, the bending deflection of the rolls during rolling is quiteappreciable, and this contributes to the inaccuracy of rolling. It isparticularly tiresome in multi-strand rolling. owing to the variation ofthe deflection with distance from ice the desired high degree ofstiffness and do so by further complicating the assembly. a t

In all these mills it is usual to drive bothrolls, the drive beingtransmitted from a common pinion 'box through Wobbler or universalshafts which allow the spacing apart of the rolls'to be varied. Adisadvantage of this arrangement is that the angularity of the drivecauses undesirable torque fluctuations. Furthermore, in the absence ofany means of ensuring equipartition of the rolling torque betweenthe tworoll drives, both have to be designed with ample reserve of strength tocope with the possible concentration of torque in one or the other rolldrive. This further increases the size of the roll and aggravates theconsequences of it as outlined above.

It is an object of the presehtinvention to provide means of eliminatingall or some of the disadvantages outlined above.

Considering the invention from this aspect we provide a rolling millcomprising a first roll mounted. in a housing having a first lockingsurface facing towards said first roll, and a second roll mounted in ahousing having a second locking surface facing away from said secondroll, the second roll and surface being arranged between the first rolland the first surface in such a manner that the rolls co-oper'ate forrolling, and the surfaces co-operate in order to lock the housingsagainst the separating force developed between the rolls during rolling,both surfaces intersecting the pass plane, in which the separating forcewill be developed, and both surfaces being as close as is convenientlypossible to the roll gap. The closer the connection between the housingsis to the roll gap and pass line the better, for closeness reduces thelength of the these wear at difierent rates and yet groove-switching imust be done simultaneously on all stands of a mill train.

In multi-strand mills having rolls supported at both ends it is alsoimpossible to adjust the relative disposition of mating grooves of onestrand without affecting other strands- Also, it is impossible in thisarrangement to combine multi-strand rolling with the alternation ofhorizontal and vertical stands in the mill train.

' Yet another unfavourable feature of prevailing practice is that thebearing chocks are slideably mounted in U or O-shaped housing frames. 7The presence of these frames on either side of the rolling line reducesvisibility and accessibility for adjustment during rolling, and makesroll changing cumbersome. If, in the interests of speedy roll changing,U-shaped frames are employed and the 'asso 'design on the elimination ofplay, then roll changing becomes so complicated that, in the interestsof continuity of production, the entire mill stands have to be" changedthere is provided a rolling mill comprising two, generally path betweenthe rolls through the housings, and hence reduces the amount of springin this path.

Additionally, the invention provides that roll gap adjustrnent means belocated between the locking surfaces to couple the same, since in thisway the adjustment means will be in compression during rolling. For.this purpose a wedge or wedges are preferred for roll gap adjustment,since a wedge bearing between the locking surfaces and so coupling thetwo housings is readily arranged to intersect the pass plane as do thelocking surfaces, and at the same time, a Wedge or wedges provide ameans for obtaining fine adjustment of the roll gap without increasingthe spring of the mill.

Regarding the above terminology: the pass line is the line along whichthe material being rolled travels, that is to say, it is a line throughthe roll gap at right angles to the plane containing the roll axes. Thepass plane is the plane containing the pass line and the line of actionof the separating forces developed between the rolls during the roll gapperpendicular to the roll axes.

, Considering the invention from another viewpoint,

U-shaped, roll housing structures, one such structure being located withboth its 'U-arms disposed between and in opposition to the U-arms of theother structure; Afirst'pair of corresponding adjacent U-arms, one fromeach structure, respectively include the rolls ofthe mill mounted inoverhung manner and the associated roll spindles and A in section,

chocks: while the remaining through the medium of the roll gapadjustment means,

preferably of wedge form also intersecting'the pass plane.

The practical advantages of such a mill are as already described'aboveand it will be seen'that, in any event, the

arrangement is .also such that-the separating forces due to rolling are.balanced within a closed system which includes no ground connections,the forces exerted on the two housing structures being balanced in thecoupling providedby the roll .gap adjustment means whereby such means isanaintained under compression duringrolling.

One embodiment of theinvention; a steel rod mill, and

a, particularly advantageous mill arrangement madeipos. .sible by thisinvention, will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which: 7

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the mill, FIGURE 2' is the same view of the.rnill, shown partly FIGURE 3 is 1, and

FIGURE4 is a enten es the line IV-IVof FIGURE 3 showing one only of theroll housings. FIGURES Sand 6 show, diagrammatically, two -rnillarrangements fortwo-strandrollingI 1 As shown in the drawings, there aretwo roll housings, '12, 13 which merge into chocks 14, 15 for themounting of driving spindles 16, 17 of work rolls 55; Housing. '12

consists of a base 18' havingjlateral shoulders 19 and a central upwardextension or body. 25 which is integral with chock 14. Housing13comprises two arms 81 projecting asection on the line nr nr or FIGURE7 second pair of U -arrns intersect the pass plane and serve to. couplethe two structures 4 '1 r passes through a central opening 37 in thebase 18. One end of the rod 36 carries a'second handwheel 40 while theother end is captive in a trunnion 41 which carries a shaft 42-. Shaft42 in turn pivotally carries two levers 43 which are also pivoted on ashaft 44 secured in a projecting part 45 of housing 12 and on a pivot 71to. links 72 which are pivoted by pivots 73 to the housing 13.? Ashandwheel lower surfaces 82 of arms, 81 in'housing13. Itj willrbenotedtha't surfaces 18 face away from. their associated from chock 15 oneach side ofthe central extension 24),

and having lower surfaces 82 whichrest on wedges 22 lo- :cated on theshoulders 1 9 As shown in FIGURE'3, the arrangement of shouldeis 19,extension 20,1arn1s 81 and wedges 22 is symmetrically disposed relativeto the plane passingthrough the roll axes. V p Each chock 14, 15 carriestherespective driving spindle 16, 17 in'two or three bearingsas shown inFIGURE 4. The larger bearing 23 which'takes the rolling load is lo catedin thechock 14, 15 while the smaller bearing 24,

which takesup bearing clearance,-is located in an overhanging backwardextension 25, 26 ofthe check 14, 15. There is preferably also provided athird bearing 46 which is provided within an annular member 47 which canbe loaded by a piston 48 arranged in aihydraulic pressure chamber 49 inorder to'help tak'eup. clearances in the main bearing 23 and toenablethe mill to be completely prestress'ed. i V,

Each spindle carries a rolling tool 55 which takes the form of aremovable sleeve 27 of hard material with a peripheral groove 28 cuttherein. The sleeve 27 is held on a mandrel 75 formed in the end ofthe'spindle by'a roll and its spindle l'l, while shoulders 19facetowards their associated-roll and its spindle 16.

, Again, regarding the U-shaped structures referred to abme, it will beseen that a first such structure includes spindle 16, chock Has thefirst U-arm, extension ZO as'the U-base and base 18-as the secondU-armzwhile the second such structure includes spindle 17 and check 15as the first U-arm, arms 81 as the second U-arrn and theJU- base as thejunction between chock 15 aridarmsfili V In either event thelockingsurfaces or second arms'are of interleaved form by virtueof theuse of two arms 81 disposed on either side of extensionlfl and lockedandcoupled to respective shoulders 19 through the intermediary of wedges22. However in thisconnectio'n :it will be notedthat the'lockingsurfacesareto be viewed as in cluding the-side faces of extension, 20contacted. by the inner side "facesofarms 19 in areasindicated at 83inFIGURE 3 whereby the housings are effectively locked a in the directionof the pass line.

collar 30 which is locked by a nut '31- and lock nut 32 on a threadedbolt 29 secured in the spindle. As will be seen in FIGURE 1, thespindles 16, 17 project inwardly towards one another and the two rollsoverlap with the grooves'28 aligned to form a roll'hole. Eachspindle 16,17 is carried in cantilever fashion in that each spindle is mounted inits chock at one side only of the roll surface. Rolling tool separationis efiected by the wedges 22.. A

threadedrod 33, which iscaptive in a block Silset into.

the housing 13 but which can rotate about its axis, carries a nut 34secured to a bridge member (not shown) connecting the wedges 22. As therod 33 is turned by a handwheel 35, the wedges 22 are moved relative tothe mounting 13 and thereby adjust the vertical separation of the:housings 12,- 13 and hence the separation of the rolls 55. I

When the desired separation of the rolls 55 has been obtained, the usualchock locking wedges 39are placed between the two housings. These wedges39 may be by draulic chocks and/ or may have lus, as may wedges 22..

The rolls 55 may also be adjusted axiallyv to ensure re a specifiedspring modue istration of the rolling grooves with therolling line.This. may conveniently be done by the threaded rod 36 which 'It will be.observed that, in the construction shown in FIGURES l to4, the. lengthof the path through the housing subject to the separating force is smallcompared-with that in a conventional mill. This is achieved by arrangingthe interlocking of the housings of the rolls to be as close to thepassline as possible, consistent with proper access to the roll gap; theseparating path is then simply from the l upper roll 55,- throughthehousing 12tothe wedge 22 where it is balanced by, the downward forceapplied to the lower roll 55 by the material being rolled andtransmitted throughthe housing 13. to the wedge 22. By keeping the pathof the separating force to a minimum, "the elongation of the mill underthe. action of the. separating force is keptsinall, with the result thatvariations in the dimensions of the rolled material are reduced.

As the roll spindles are. mounted on opposite sides of thepass linethrough-the: rolling grooves, access to the working surfaces of therolling tools is obtained without i difficulty. This feature, togetherwiththe ease with which 5 the sleeves 27. and hence the profile oftherolling groove may be changed considerably reduces the loss inworking time occasioned by. a change or tools throughweanora change inthe section of the work tobe rolled The canti:

lever mounting, ofthe spindles 16," 17 also enables the.

main bearings 23 for the. spindles to beef larger diameter than thediameter of the rolling sleeves 27 so that wear of'these bearings'isreduced. Additionally, the spindles 16, 17 themselves may have-alargerdiameter than the work rolls over the major part of their lengthsand inparticu1ar over the length with the housing and extending to,theroihwith a resulting increase inlthe stitfnessofthe.

niillandreduced wearof the working-surface; Thespin; die diameter shouldof course. decrease to match 'theroll diameterlmmediately adjacent .tothe roll, in orderto give.

clearance for theopposing. roll. Onlthe other handjthe. rolling tooldiameters may be kept smallso that .the mass and cost of the tools arekept to a minimum even when relative costly materials are used onaccount of their re slstance to wear, the roll separatingforce-.andlrolling torque are reduced, and a bigger proportion of therolling squeeze is turned into elongation and a smaller proportion intospread, with a result that the desired elongation of the work may beaccomplished in a smaller number of passes A short rolling tool face mayalso be achievedto minimize roll mass as before, and to reducedistortion and mill spring due to roll bending, since it allowsthe'rollto be very close to the main bearing.

If a degree of mill spring is requu'ed in the 111111, the design of thehousing or bearings may be altered accordingly. l

The end of the roll spindle 16 not carrying the roll 55, is shown inFIGURE 1 as projecting from the chock extension 25 to enable thatspindle 16 to be driven. Addit onally, the spindle 17 may be driven fromthe same drive as the spindle 16; alternatively spindle 17 may be spunby a separate small motor before entry of the work mto the roll holetofacilitate that entry, but afterwards allowed to free-wheel. I'fcontinuous operation is possible, even the spinner motor becomesunnecessary. .Itfollows that although these spindles and rolls are shownto be ofequal size in thefigures, in the last-mentioned arrangementsthe;

free-wheeling spindle and roll can be made smaller, which furtherimproves accessibility."

The mill described above may-be readily modified for two strand working.In this case, the spindle 16 18 carried in a pair of heavy bearings,which may have a pre stressing bearing, similar to bearing 46, betweenthem, and has a work roll 55 at each end. The additional roll at theright-hand end of the spindle, asfviewed in FIGURE 1, co-operates with aroll carried on a third spindle which is arranged and mountedin a manneranalogous to spindle 17. The spindle 16 may be driven centrally, or allthree spindles may be driven, or the two outer spindles may be driven bya small motor only prior to the entry of the work. An advantage of thistwo-strand mill over previous two-strand mills is that the roll gaprandroll ah gn. ment for each strand may be adjusteg without altering th aor ali cut for the other stran FICi URES fi zind 6 showdiagrammatically, two further mill arrangements'for two-strand rolling.In each of these arrangements two pairs of rolls are prov ded, one rollof one pair being connected to one roll'of the other pair in such amanner that they can be driven by, common driving means. This principlecanalso be apphed to multi-strand rolling.

In the past, two-strand rolling mills .have suffered from" variousdisadvantages, of which the two most serious are:

(1) The roll gap and roll alignment cannot be ad usted independently forthe two stands, .asis often desirable, because of difiering wear in theroll grooves forming the two strands. In the present invention,theconnected rolls of each pair can bemounted rigidly,; while theunconnected rolls of each pair can be made independently adjustable. I

(2) A mill train for rolling is arranged for each mill to deform thestock in a direction at' right angles to'the preceding mill. This olfersno problem with single strand rollingathemills are simply arranged withtheir pass planes at right angles. In two-strand rolling however, it isnecessary to twist the strands in order toallow them to pass togetherthrough successive mills. 'Ihis twisting weakens the strands, and opensup any faults present in the strands. The present invention allows thepass lines of the strands to be kept straight and untwisted, andprovides a mill which is still cheaper andmore convenient and which,thanks 'to the reduced roll diameter, requires less power to run than.two independent of the old type.

In the 'mill arrangement of FIGURES, two pairs of. rolls 54, 55 areprovided. Independent rolls 55 are.

mounted in housings 51, similar to the housing 15 of FIG-' URE 1, havinglugs 57 with downwardly directed locking surfaces coacting with upwardlydirected locking surfaces;

onlugs 56 of main housing 61. Adjustment means be: tween the lockingsurfaces are again wedges 22.

Rolls 54 are provided on the ends of driving spindles 62 mounted inbearings, similar to those shown in FIG- URE 4, in main housing 61,Spindles 62 are connected .by a gearing 63, so that both spindles can bedriven together by a motor 60 working through gearing 64. I

This arrangement provides two pass lines, fixed in space one above theother, the rolls being driven from a common motor, but allows'the rollga'pahd roll alignment for each pass line to beadjusted independently.This is also trueof the complementary arrangement shownin FIGUREF6.

In FIGURE 6, independent rolls 55 are mounted in housings 52 having lugs59 with locking surfaces cooperating through adjustment wedges 22, withlocking surfaces on lugs 58 of main housing 65. The driven rolls 53 aremountedon each end of a common spindle 66, and are driven throughgearing 67 by motor 60. All the details described in connection withFIGURES 1 to 4 may be included in the mill arrangements of FIGURES 5 and6. In particular each'independent roll55 is preferably provided with aspinner motor 50 to facilitate the entry of work between the rolls. Ifdesired, however, the rolls 55 may also be connected to the drivingmeans. The arrangement of FIGURE 6 provides two .pass lines fired inspace which can be made identical with the pass lines of the FIGURE 5arrangement. ,The pass planes of FIGURE 6 are, however, at rightanglesto the pass planes of FIGURE 5. It will be understood that thismay also be attained with the two pass lines lying'parallel in ahorizontal plane; For this purpose arrangements similar to those ofFIGURES 5 and 6 may be provided, but each one being turned on its side.

Other possible arrangements include two complementary stands, eachhaving a main driving spindle with a roll at each end and twoindependent rolls, for co-operat ing with the driven rolls. Theindependent rolls may be arranged diametrically at opposite sides of themain spindle which is inclined to the horizontal at 45, the roll sizeand spindle length being such that the two pass lines lie in ahorizontal plane and the pass planes are at 45 to the. horizontal. Thedistance apart of-eachjpair of roll axes must then-equal the distanceapart of the rolls on the main spindle. Successive main spindles will bearranged at right angles. 5 It is also possible to facilitatethearrangement of successive pass planes at right angles by providing awork surface for one or both rolls of each pair which is inclined to theroll axis or by acombination of the above arrangements. A complementarypair, or a' succession of complementarypairs of mills may be arranged toform a mill train for two-strandrolling; In this case, the main housingsfor the driven rolls of each mill may all be combined into a singleunit, or train housing, the housing for the independent rolls being madeinterchangeable so as to reduce spare housings carn'edin stock and tofacilitate major maintenance in situ. The

train housing may also house all the attachments required for the entryand exit of the strands into and out of the trainL and the guides forthe strands between mills.

When one or more complementary pair of mills are provided with asinglehousing for all the driven rolls, it is further possible for alldriven'rollst'o be driven from the same common motor. This is 'ofgreatest use with a singlecomplementary pair ofmills;

- The use of an integral train housing forzoneiormore complementarypairs of mills, described above for twostrand rolling, can also beapplied to 'single strand rollmg. 1 1 r As will be appreciated, the millas described and illus trated includes the following features:

1(1) The shaping and driving functions of each roll are preformedbyseparate elements. One of these elements is a rolling 'tool in the formof a sleeve or a disc, with the rolling surface or groove disposedcircumferentially.

features:

71 i The other. elementis a driving spindle supported in not less thantwo bearings. The two elements are detachably joined, the'joint beingsituated at one extremity of the driving spindle and all the bearingsbeing situated on the same side ofthe rolling tool; 'The nature of thejoint is such that the outside diameter of the rolling toolneed not begreater than the largest diameter of the driving spindle. Indeed, therolling tool diameter is chosen as small as is desirablein the interestsof efficient shaping of the. stock and low rolling force and torque;andthe spindle is proportioned for maximum flexural' stifi ness andefiicient bearing support.

The width of 'the'rolling tools is made no more than is needed toaccommodate one Working groove, so that the line of action of therolling force is situated in closest proximity to the line of reactionof the nearest bearing, 1

in the interests of least deflection of the ax'es of the rolling tools,particularly by bending of the. spindle.

p (2). When assembled in -the mill,rthe two' driving spindles are placedoneon either side of the plane containing the'rolling tools and therolled'stock'.between them. This-arrangement, which will be referred toas the juxtaposed cantilever system, makes ittpossible'for the diametersof the rolling tools to be made independent 1 .25 (3) Theihousings inwhich the two spindles are mountof the diameters of the drivingspindles.

ed are each provided'with'lugs which are situated on the same side ofthe plane which contains the axis'of the rolled stock and which isparallel to the axes of the spindles. These lugs project in the generaldirection of the rolling tool so as to pierce the .plane'at right anglesto the axes of the. rolling tools and containing the axis of (7)Compactnessof mill, coupled withthe ease of providing precision threedimensional alignment of ;the

two mating tools;

r (8) Independent adjustment of rolling grooves for each (9) Highoutput,twist-free rolling through the vertical-.

(i) The use of a subsidiary spindle bearing with tighten-v V ing-up'orpre-stressing element for the elimination of' all play in the mainspindle hearings, in particular 7 when rolling narrow strip, in order tocounteract tilt ing of the rolls under the action of the roll separatingforces; p a 7 (ii) The use of a material possessing the very. highestresistance to wear in'the manufacture of the rolling tools, irrespectiveof its flexural properties; Examples are: ceramics, cermets, sinteredhard carbides, high alloy steel, and other hard wearing alloys (e.g.stel- 1 lites) used in--cast form. In all these cases the rolling 5groove can'be incorporatedin the forming process a (casting orsintering), so that the conventional time consuming and costly passturning or grinding operations are dispensed with. r (iii) Theme ofspacing elements inserted between the lugs of the mating housings,having a specified spring modulus} r The combination ofthese'designprinciples enables the .following to be achieved:- a a (1) Goodaccessibility to the stock being rolled;

. being disposed on the side, of the first bearing remoteirom (2) Easychanging of rolling tools without disturbing the driving spindles; j

(3) Rolling line fixed in space so that guides need not be realignedafter a change of rolling tools;

4 'Negligible. bending deflection of driving spindlesan negligiblehousingstretchj (5) Optimum diameter of rolling toolforefiicient'rolling; V (6). Small mass of rolling tool making possiblethe. use

, of costly, hard wearing materials;

strand of a twin-strand mill, by which means it is further possible toroll simultaneously certain combinations of different sections, or ofidentical different materials;

- horizontal alternation of twin-strand stands;

. 1.1Arolling-mil1' comprising two pairs of .work rolls to define tworoll gapstherebetween, a common spindle carrying one roll of eachpairimounted in an overhanging manner at either end ofthe. spindle, acentral housing in whichthe spindle is mounted, separate housings inwhich the otherrolls of each pair are mounted in overhanging manner;said separate housings each having a fixedly secured partinterleavingwith a part of the central.

housing, the abutting surfaces of the interleaving parts of the separatehousingsv being disposed in planes intersecting the passplanes. of saidtwo roll'gaps, and wedge.

adjustment means betweensthe interleaving-partscorresponding to eachpair of 'rolls' for independent adjustment of each pair of rolls forrollgapand' alignment. 2. A rolling mill comprising:twogenerally U-shapedroll housing structures-one such structurezbeing located with both itsU-arms disposed between and adjacentthe U-arms ofthe other structure; afirst pair of c'orresponding adjacent. U-armsfone, fromseach structure,respec.-. tively, mounted in overhung mannena roll, a roll chock and aspindle mounting said roll and saidchocklsup-w ported on each of saidadjacent U-arrns; the remaining second pair of corresponding adjacent,U-arms being interleaved transverse their longitudinal axes andlongitudinally intersecting the pass plane of. the mill as'defined bysaid rolls; a wedgebearing longitudinally between said second pair ofU-armsandintersecting the pass plane;

and means for adjusting 'the'longitudinal position of said Wedgetoeffect variation of the roll' gap. i

3. A rolling millaccordingto claim 2 wherein each,

roll chock comprises aplurality of bearings in'which the respective rollspindle is mounted, and} loading means loading at least one of saidbearings in'each' chock to take up1 clearances in the other bearings andso prestressthe mil. a

4. .A rolling mill according. to claim 2, wherein each roll chockincludes a first=bearing anda second bearing in'whichtherespectivespindlefis mounted, the first hearing being disposed closelyadjacentflthe overhungroll carried bythe respective spindle and thesecond bearing said roll, and pressure means exerting pressure upon saidsecond bearing for prestressing the. same.

, 5. A rolling mill according to claim 4, wherein of said r'oll 'chocksfurther includes an annual member encompassing the respective spindleand housing the respective second bearing, and wherein said pressuremeans comprise a hydraulic-pressure means including a piston exertingradially directed pressure upon the. annular rnem berfto effectprestressing of :the second bearing. r

' 6. 'A rolling mill comprising: a first generally U-shaped roll housingstructure formed by a first U a'rm including each side of the U-base; asecond generally U-shaped structure disposed in opposition to the firstsuch structure. and formedby a first U-arm including an overhung-rolland chock and spindle therefor which first U-armis located between theU-arms of the first structure and adjacent the first-'U-armthereof'whereby the rollsco-operate' .tor rolling, a U-base memberfixably connected to the sections in U-base member each of thebifurcated arms being located adjacent a different one of the shouldersof the first structure and embracing the U-base member thereof; twowedges bearing one each between a difierent one of said shoulders andthe bifurcated arm associated therewith; and common means for adjustingsaid two wedges to adjust the gap between the co-operating rolls, thearrangement being such that each of said second arms and wedgesintersects the pass plane of the mill as defined by said rolls.

7. A rolling mill according to claim 6 wherein each chock includes threebearings in which therespective roll spindle is mounted, the threebearings being disposed around the chock successively along its axisrelative to the spindle with a first bearing locatedclosely adjacent theoverhung roll carried by the spindle, a second bearing located adjacentthe end of the spindle remote fi'om the roll, and a third bearinglocated intermediate said first and second bearings, and whereinhydraulic pressure means prestress said third bearing.

8. A rolling mill comprising a first roll, a first housing mounting saidroll and having a first lockingsurface facing toward said roll, a secondroll, a second housing mounting the second roll and interleaved with thefirst housing, said second housing having a second locking surfacefacing away from said second roll, the second roll and second surfacebeing interleaved between the first roll and the first surface inpositions in which the rolls cooperate for rolling and the lockingsurfaces oppose each other, wedge adjustment means arranged betweenopposed locking surfaces for adjusting the housings relative to oneanother and bearing against said surfaces in order to lock the housingsagainst the separating force developed between the rolls during rolling,said surfaces and said wedge adjustment means connection intersectingthe pass plane in which the separating force is developed-during arolling operation.

9. A twin-strand rolling mill comprising a pair of mills, each of whichmills includes two generally U-shaped roll I housing structures, a firstone of such structures being 10- cated with both its U-arms disposedbetween and in opposition to the U-arms of the second one of suchstructures, a first pair of corresponding adjacent U-arms, one from eachstructure, being mounted in an overhung manner, each of said adjacentU-arms supporting the roll, the associated roll chock and the spindle ofthe respective mill, the second pairs of corresponding adjacent U- armsof the two housing structures longitudinally, intersecting therespective pass plane, a wedge bearing longitudinally between eachsecond pair of corresponding arms and longitudinally intersecting therespective pass plane, and means for independently adjusting thelongitudinal positions of said wedges to effect independent variation ofthe roll gaps; the two U-shaped roll housing structures of each pairbeing interleaved one with another to prevent separation in thedirection of the pass line, the two pairs of U-shaped housing structuresdefining parallel pass planes, and one pair of corresponding secondU-shaped housing structures being fixedly interconnected for mounting ona common foundation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM ISTEPHENSON, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM w. DYER, JR., Examiner.

1. A ROLLING MILL COMPRISING TWO PAIRS OF WORK ROLLS TO DEFINE TWO ROLLGAPS THEREBETWEEN, A COMMON SPINDLE CARRYING ONE ROLL OF EACH PAIRMOUNTED IN AN OVERHANGING MANNER AT EITHER END OF THE SPINDLE, A CENTRALHOUSING IN WHICH THE SPINDLE IS MOUNTED, SEPARATE HOUSINGS IN WHICH THEOTHER ROLLS OF EACH PAIR ARE MOUNTED IN OVERHANGING MANNER, SAIDSEPARATE HOUSINGS EACH HAVING A FIXEDLY SECURED PART INTERLEAVING WITH APART OF THE CENTRAL HOUSING, THE ABUTTING SURFACES OF THE INTERLEAVINGPARTS OF THE SEPARATE HOUSINGS BEING DISPOSED IN PLANES INTERSECTING THEPASS PLANES OF SAID TWO ROLL GAPS, AND WEDGE ADJUSTMENT MEANS BETWEENTHE INTERLEAVING PARTS CORRESPONDING TO EACH PAIR OF ROLLS FORINDEPENDENT ADJUSTMENT OF EACH PAIR OF ROLLS FOR ROLL GAP AND ALIGNMENT.